Word Of God

The TRUTH of False Teachers, Preachers and Prophets

~ Ann Cuddy-Sullivan ~ 1 Comment

Our first responsibility as followers of Jesus Christ is to the TRUTH. We are called to speak it, teach it, write about it, and if annointed, preach it… but most of all we are to live it. And we aren’t to do this for a season or when it’s easy and comfortable – we’re called to do it until. Until when… until the Word of God is spoken to the four corners of the globe… until every ear has heard the TRUTH of Salvation through Jesus Christ.

Early in February 2018, the Holy Spirit woke me in the very early hours of the morning and impressed these words onto my heart… “Speak the TRUTH to the whole world”.  I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do next. So with an open mind and heart and with pen in hand, I prayed. I prayed for guidance about “TRUTH”. This is something which has been on my heart for quite some time. My desire to write an ongoing series of articles was born from a story I wrote in my book – “Refined by the Fire” – called “TRUTH”.  The book was published in September 2017; it has taken me until February 2018 to begin the “TRUTH” series. And while I’ve hit some snags… I am discovering the articles which had the most impact were ones that flowed easily from my pen. The difficult articles took days and days to write, while struggling over words and defining the direction of the article, they did not flow as easily as I wanted, they were a clumsy and awkward read. It didn’t take long to realize that I had to take me out of the decision making process of what to write. I have taken the direction and subject of the articles out of my hands and now pray for guidance and let the Holy Spirit lead.

Speaking the TRUTH isn’t always popular, but… are we called to be popular… or are we called to speak the TRUTH? The TRUTH of the gift of eternal life and salvation offered only through Jesus Christ… to speak the TRUTH of good news of the Kingdom to a dark and dying world?

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What G(g)od do you seek?

~ Ann Cuddy-Sullivan ~ Leave a comment

“And God spoke these words, “I am the LORD your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have NO other God before me.”  Exodus 20:1-3

The first of the Ten Commandments, along with the next three, tells of our duty to God. While the remaining 6, speak to our relationship with our neighbor. It is correct that this commandment be first as we had a Maker to love, before we had a neighbor to love.

He is Jehovah God. He is the singular object of our worship. The worship of any other god animate or inanimate is forbidden.

“Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites this: ‘You have seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven: Do not make any gods to be alongside Me; do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gods of gold.” Exodus 20:22-23 Continue reading →

Truth

~ Ann Cuddy-Sullivan

 

“…we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, Who is the head of His body, the church”
Ephesians 4:15 NLT

 “That I may walk in Your truth” Ps 86:1

What is truth?   Well a Google search on “what is truth” returned 683,000,000 hits – so someone, or quite a few someone’s, out there knows what truth is. Or at least they are offering a definition of what truth might be. But are they offering us their truth? Is their truth true? Or is it my truth? Is my truth true? Just who’s truth is it and who and what makes it true? Now that’s a whole bunch of questions!

Since 683,000,000 Google hits would be a bit more time consuming that I am ready for… I will start at the beginning. What is truth?

How do we define truth? It’s simple to say that truth is something that is true. But does that really say what truth is? Continue reading →

Lavish Grace

~ Ann Cuddy-Sullivan ~ Leave a comment

Lavish Grace: Poured Out, Poured Through, and OverflowingLavish Grace: Poured Out, Poured Through, and Overflowing by Kathy Howard
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“Lavish Grace is a unique, nine-week study of Paul’s teachings about grace and ways he experienced God’s grace in his life. Filled with contemporary examples of grace at work, this well-written format gives you the rare opportunity to combine a character and topical study into one rich, practical approach to Scripture. Lavish Grace is the eye-opening study you need to recognize how God’s grace is being poured out on you and through you. His grace will give you reason to rejoice every day.”

Lavish Grace by Kathy Howard is an interesting book. It is designed to be an interactive nine-week bible study, but I think that it could also devotional of sorts too. The book is divided into three sections: “Grace Poured Out”, “Grace Poured Through” and “Grace Overflowing”. Each section is then divided into three week studies and each week into four sections. Continue reading →

Hearing God’s Voice Today

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Hearing God's Voice Today: Practical Help for Listening to Him and Recognizing His VoiceHearing God’s Voice Today: Practical Help for Listening to Him and Recognizing His Voice by James W Goll
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“Discover the Adventure of Hearing God. God longs for a deeper, more intimate relationship with you. When we pray, He listens. Always. But do you listen for His response? You should! Hearing God is a privilege and delight available to every child of God.”

“As it was in the beginning”… and so starts this book; “Hearing God’s Voice Today; Practical help for Listening to Him and Recognizing His voice” by James Goll. In this book the author takes us right there… to the beginning and from there offers the readers the tools necessary and equips them draw nearer to God and truly believe that He wants to speak to us. In this book, we learn to recognize His voice while overcoming what gets in the way of that.
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Hebrew Word Study

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Hebrew Word Study: Revealing the Heart of GodHebrew Word Study: Revealing the Heart of God by Chaim Bentorah
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“Hebrew is a language of poetry and pictures. With Chaim Bentorah’s expertise, you will see how to examine not just word definitions, but also the origin of the words, their place in the culture and idioms of the day, and even their emotional context. Through this devotional, you will walk the road less traveled as you uncover the deeper spiritual messages in God’s Word. In the process, you will discover the heart of God toward you and come to know Him better. You will see just how beautiful the Word of God is and, most of all, you will see the beauty of God Himself and love Him all the more.”

I loved this book! As the author says, “I would love to walk in the garden and converse with God as Adam did; Alas, the reality is that our most authoritative source for understanding Him is what is written in Scripture that came from the heart of God into a human language that we can’t understand, and were then translated into yet another language that we can understand.” Therein lies the heart of it… and this book cuts through all of that, brings us beyond the dozens of translations of the Word to discover the heart of God. Continue reading →

Praise is My Weapon

~ Ann Cuddy-Sullivan ~ Leave a comment

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Praise Is My Weapon by Dan Willis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“”I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High. When mine enemies are turned back, they shall fall and perish at thy presence.” Psalm 9:2

Life is hard. Even as believers, we are constantly barraged by challenges, sickness, attacks, and tragedies. Loved ones die. Good people get hurt. The faithful are besieged. It is no wonder we are often plagued by questions that plant seeds of doubt in our minds.

And yet, we are not powerless or empty-handed in the battle for our faith. As children of God, we are legal authorities in the kingdom of heaven, charged with taking control of our circumstances and enlarging our territory. And one of our greatest weapons in the war is praise.”

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The Country Road through the Book of Matthew

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The Country Road through the Book of MatthewThe Country Road through the Book of Matthew by Mike Lovett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Country Road through the Book of Matthew is just that, a road that travels through the entirety of Matthew with stops along the way where the reader can pause and explore on their own. Desiring to live out Paul’s admonition to Timothy that all scripture is inspired by God and useful to us, Mike keeps the reader on the road in hopes that each day will bring new growth in their relationship with Christ as they read about His birth, life, ministry, death, and resurrection.
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Friendship with God

~ Ann Cuddy-Sullivan ~ 1 Comment

A Daily Invitation to Friendship with God: Dreaming With God to Transform Your WorldA Daily Invitation to Friendship with God: Dreaming With God to Transform Your World by Bill Johnson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“Your Daily Access to Heaven’s Wisdom, Creativity, Purpose, and Power. When people are in love they dream together. The same is true for your relationship with God. He wants to share the secrets of His heart—His thoughts, plans and purposes—with you. The Maker of Heaven and Earth wants to dream with you!”

A Daily Invitation to Friendship with God by Bill Johnson is a devotional of sorts taken from the writings of his book “Dreaming with God” The book is divided into ten sections that include: Co-Laboring with God, The Creative Edge, The Value of Mystery, The Language of the Spirit, Invading Babylon, The Practical Side of Things, The Spirit of Revelation, Celebrating the Living Word, Redesigning our World and Pulling Tomorrow into Today. Continue reading →

Releasing Spiritual Gifts Today

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Releasing Spiritual Gifts TodayReleasing Spiritual Gifts Today by James Goll
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“This book isn’t just about discovering our spiritual gifts, or even receiving them-it’s about releasing them! God wants you to experience the great wonder of moving in and through His grace, on a daily basis.

As you read, you’ll first gain an overview of spiritual gifts and be introduced to the way the Holy Spirit moves and operates within them. Then you’ll explore the nine most widely recognized spiritual gifts. These are not the only gifts God gives His children, but they are vital to understand and then activate according to His leading.

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